open Casual stroll

Rising Dusk · June 25, 2019

How interesting. A Queen rules the lands of Harrowmark, paying homage to the fact that even within his own lands, Twisted's shadow only reached so far. Terrible to be abandoned to a cruel fate under the hoofs of a dark wizard and not so be rescued by their own ruler. Not that it was his place to judge, nor would he dare to presume the weight of the decision made to stay out of the path of a mad pony. That would be a matter left between the Queen and Thistle. The concept of hierarchical titles was always relative to one's own culture. Princess in the land of Equestria had always been the highest authority and thus the title was where it was. Reading the books on other cultures gave more expression to things like Queens/Kings and Emperors/Empresses with Princess marked to lower stations, but such things were left to their own lands.

The idea of having to meet royalty on his stay in Harrowmark wasn't the most preferred. Etiquette and ceremony for such things were not his favorite, especially with his less that desirable attire. Decidedly he chose not to pack his dress hoodie in his saddle bag when whisking off to battle a dark wizard. Hopefully the delivery raven was moving a little slow while he was asleep and recovering. He felt pretty confident though most of his luck was used up surviving the encounter. Not that'd he say such things out loud, of course.

The dropping of an old book on the table made him jump slightly as a passing request quite silently fulfilled. It was a bit dangerous the power he had right now and how many of the town folk would climb over each other to fulfill his needs. A produced map was one thing. Looking to his left and right he whispered, "Hayburger?" Nope. Nope. Nothing, a smirk crossed his face as he approached the book and ignited his horn. Gripping the book to float it up into a standing position, the old pages delicately flipping through at a quick pace as the information was taken in by his memory. Rising Dusk wondered how outdated the old tome might be with the lack of such things as book making their way to the town for updates. Whole towns could be gone, grown and even new ones appearing. "I'm afraid Ms. Wisp, making portals is outside my capability. I can't even get myself home," the unicorn informed her while finished up the last couple of pages. Finishing off his mug of water with a get solid gulp and then turning to face her again. "But I can sure break them," he chuckled.

"My hurry to return home is to inform my comrades that I survived the case with Twisted Gears. He attacked my city with the intent to destroy it. I alone was sent to battle the dark wizard while the rest of my team remained to defend the city. I received a message of them while hunting Twisted that they succeeded, but thus far they've heard nothing from me," he explained, hoping she would understand his wish to leave was in no way related to his desire to part with this hospitality.

Blitz Boom · June 25, 2019

@Sweet Scoop

On 6/23/2019 at 7:22 PM, Sweet Scoop said:

"That's quite fine, I don't really care to talk too much myself. On that note, please don't speak to me further."

The customers today were acting quite rude, honestly. Alonsus were well aware that all did not match well with his personality, but there were hardly the common cortesy to just act nicely and then wander away with the last few, and this one in particular. Rather rude he'd say, yet it were not his place to be confrontational about this sort of thing in the workplace. Also, for all he knew, they may just have a bad day, and would act more reasonable the next time either of them entered the shop again.

On 6/23/2019 at 7:22 PM, Sweet Scoop said:

"Sorry...It took extra time. I tripped in a puddle of mud, as you can kind see, and i got robbed while I was away, not the best time. Here's the three bits though."

Stare's eyes opened wide in surprise as Storm told her that she had been robbed. The mud and trickling blood had already made her approach the mare with some degree of concern, but being robbed? IN Ponyville of all places? This hardly ever happened here. Guess all of those workers from the Courier's Guild weren't as up to snuff as that large dragon had promised... If it were them, and not just some tourist. Couldn't be a local though, r-right?

"Sit down and relax please, you need an ice pack."

Whilst Stare were speaking, a whistling from the kitchen came right before an ice pack were thrown, caught by Alonsus without even looking backwards to grab it, who then came over and offered it to Storm. A concerned look went over his normally smiling and boastful face, as he looked at the mare who had frankly seemed like she had far better days than this.

"Here, hold this against your wound, please. A damp cloth will be here shortly to help clean you up too."

If it were not taken, he'd just put it on the table, and go towards the kitchen to get said cloth, though he stopped at Betsy's table first, and looked at the mess on the floor where the bowl had fallen down after that tremor.

"Worry not madame, there are more stew in the kitchen, and I will return with a replacement for you too. It is not the first time these freak tremors have caused something to fall down."

Thnkfully it hadn't fallen, on her it seemed, but still, unfortunate, and she'd get a new bowl within a minute or so.

Stare didn't say anything to what he said, but the whole thing about a freak tremor just... It didn't fit her idea of what were going on. More so when she saw the freak rain that then came as Storm had seemed to look down. She were used to looking at others in town from the safety of her home and took notice in things, and oftentimes, it seemed like weird weather tended to come often Storm had been in a sort of strange or bad mood. A strange phenomenon, and she had no proof of anything, but it did make her wonder the more she saw it happen.

"What did the thief take? Something valuable?"

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@Moonlit

Fah'lina chittered with an annoying tone and tried to struggle as she were floated on top of the three legged mare. The mimic were not a fan of this whole magic thing and how it just moved her around against her will like she were some kind of puppet. She also didn't enjoy being put in strangers, even if they offered food, so soon as she were free again she'd flap over and land on Ziggy's head. The tall zegasus made for the best looking post to see everything going on near them from, and were a familiar presence, so she'd happily situate there for now.

Ziggy meanwhile, listened to what the mare said and understood her point, it were just concerning that perhaps she didn't know of alternatives. Magical medicine had done wonders the last five to ten years in the way pf progress, and could likely help her with the scars with perhaps some special salves, or at worst, skin grafts. The leg would be a whole other thing, but perhaps she could suggest some good prosthetics that would make her wander more normally later on? She'd do it now, but they had apparently run into Serenade's foster father, and she got distracted by seeing him.

On 6/24/2019 at 2:21 AM, Moonlit said:

The Unicorn nods, then notices Fah'lina on Harmony's back. He magics something wrapped in foil up to Fah'lina. "Sorry Squirt" He looks at Serenade, "She's getting the mireluke"

"Heya, I'm Ziggy, Serenade's friend, and this here's Fah'lina. Awesome to meet you, hehe. I got Lot's of questions for you all about how things are, buuuuut I'm also kinda curious about what this sorta thing is you're feeding the bite squirrel. What's a *mireluke*?"

Ziggy didn't know, and neither did Fah'lina, who took it since, y'know, free stuff. Yet after that, as she still weren't sure what this were, and seeing how Serenade acted when she were told that apparently, this would have been interesting for the siren in disguise, she opened it up rather curiously, and put the foil behind Ziggy's ear. Whatever she then stood with, she'd sniff it, then meet Serenade's eyes before trying to pull this apart. If that wouldn't work, she'd bite it in half, and offer one of the halves to the siren. Serenade better appreciate this too, as it wasn't often that the mimic shared food.

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@Lucid_Nightlight

"Equestria? Pfff, we're like, 600 kilometers or something off their shore. This here's the middle of the ocean, which means that I am queen of the island."

An over-sized, flowery crown grew on Anomaly's head and she made a kind of stance normally only seen in old portrait paintings. It did't last long, as soon enough, she'd have all fours planted on the ground again and ready to roll.

As for bugs, Pringle would find several, though they'd try to use smokescreens, camouflage and one even leaving the majority of it's segmented body behind as a distraction while it scurried away, though regardless of what they'd do, they may well make for solid meals. Especially at his size. Long as he tried to not eat anything that looked poisonous. Unless his system could deal with that, in which case, he could go nuts.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Alright, but if I get killed by some sorta trap, have the decency to scrape me off the wall and bury me, will ya?"

It were said in a kind of joking tone, but in this line of work, you really never knew, and Spicy for one didn't want to end up just left down some dusty stairs for the rest of eternity. Just drag her out, smash her into some proper dirt, and put a stone up. Small stuff, but dang it, it mattered to her!

But potential imminent death aside, time to take the first few steps down here and see what they were dealing with. Who knew what sorta wonder were in wait for them below? Well, beyond the gold, but that were the obvious part.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Awh, don't worry yourself Nada, that time's gone, and now we're entering a brand new age, where you can sing and dance without having to fear that some shortsighted crazy pony, or bad siren siblings, are gonna come spoil all the fun for ya."

Berry went to the side of Nada and held her left front hoof as much around the siren as she could, whilst using her right in a sweeping motion in front of them, to indicate something that clearly wasn't there yet, seeing as it were basically just trees and a couple of squirrels fighting that were in view.

"Just imagine, a great little scene, with pones coming from all over to hear that sweet voice of yours, and a large sign just going *Nada's Singing Parlor. 1 fish per autograph.*"

Okay, now Berry were starting to go into crazy territory again, but she meant well, and in her heads at least it sounded awfully nice. Why, she were already seeing the sign in front of her as if it were real, down to the type of wood and how the letters had to be carved in and carefully painted with some dark colors, hanging above a wooden stage where Nada could sing, in front of a small clearing with seats carved out of fallen trees, as well as a few benches and tree stumps to allow for a big ol gathering, without ruining the natural look of the forest. It were going to be great stuff, she were sure of it.

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@EQ_Theta

On 6/24/2019 at 2:39 PM, EQ_Theta said:

Upon reaching the outskirts of the village, it seemed like the villagers were milling about and doing their business with very few taking notice. The perimeter guards were spooked by what they saw but quickly dropped their spears upon realizing who it was. Seems they are still jumpy when outsiders are about but they know well enough to distinguish friend and foe.

Oh, so there were other creatures here then? She must have focused on the wrong direction then.

As Omen had followed and looked the same way that Lin had, she would be met with several longma going around doing whatever varied things it were that their kind did. For the two in front of them, it seemed to be guarding the place, though they stopped looking like they were going to stab them once they saw who it were. Nothing unusual in this really. Omen had countless times popped out of a gate and gotten similar, if not worse responses. Some creatures just didn't do well with the sudden arrival of unexpected guests, but Lin were here, so there were somepony that they knew to calm them after the initial response at least, so that was good.

They didn't seem to have an issue letting Omen go through either as she wandered with Lin and saw more of the sprawling village. It looked nice and alive, with surprisingly friendly beings in it too. From what she remembered Lin saying of this place, Omen at least did not expect to be greeted with head bows and the like, which she did back to whomever she saw doing it, as this seemed to approved greeting in this place. Strange, but so were ponies and their insistence on hugs. This were just a different kind of odd, and she would try and learn from it.

Eventually Lin would stop, and Omen would come to an instant halt as well, and look around, trying to find out why they had stopped here, of all places. Had something happened?

On 6/24/2019 at 2:39 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“We’re here but I’ll need you to close your eyes,” Lin is just about to burst with excitement and barely holding herself together. “Don’t worry, I’ll guide you inside. Wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise!”

Oh, so she had to be lead now? Alright, she knew how to deal with this kind of situation at least.

Pulling her long tongue out, she swung it once around her neck, then pulled the remaining length of it towards Lin, which should give her a nice two and a half meter *leash* to drag Omen around, who now had her eyes entirely closed, for likely the first time since they'd ever met. It were honestly hard to see that they were even there like this, as her eyelids blended in so well with the rest of her face and strange, spotty color scheme. Some lashes could be seen though if you looked closely.

"Master Discord sometimes walked me around like this. Said it were fun."

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@Seamore Sandwich

"Souls aren't that simple.

Barring extremely rare situations, every living creature, once it's heart beats for the first time, have a cleansed soul within it. That soul fits their being, and depending on how magical that creature is, that can seep in and ingrain itself to some degree in the soul. It is why I can take the soul of a cat and force it into a pony, yet not take one from an elder phoenix and make it fit into a siren. The magic rejects eachother, based on in that case, elements. I don't know what changeling and everfree trees have apart from one another, but whatever it is, it makes it incapable of the energies to get along.

I were a soul collector for 800 years before I were trapped, and I can assure you, this is a rare thing to see. A creature mostly needs to be magical to their very core for this to be an issue, and what you went through... I have never encountered it before, yet I can make an assumption of what happened.

The seed you spoke of, were a new life, ready to sprout and take that first breath. It were still new, and unaffected, so it were able to plant itself into this body because there were no magical affixes to fight against it.

Still, it could also be that this rough treatment fractured your soul and what remains in the body is what part of you that is least like you. I would hope it wouldn't be the case, as this may result in less of a new life, and more something akin to an evil twin, holding many of the same memories you do."

Vivid hated being uncertain, but she really couldn't say for sure right now. Fractured souls she had dealt with, but not in this sort of capacity, and something which very essence were able to create a new life, like Charlie mentioned? She had never encountered something like that before, and she had harvested practically every kind of creature that could remain in this world for whatever pained reason.

This were new territory, and frankly, she did not like it, as she had no idea what would happen the first time this new body would be active. At best, thy had a new life on their hooves, which needed to be nurtured, and at worst a maniacal creature that would seek some sort of doom towards the lands of Equestria. And in either case, Charlie were still owd a body. Though next time, she had to think of something else that were more natural in scale, and then run a test rather than just be sure that she could do something right off the bat. Perhaps she could find a deceased dryad somewhere?

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@Seamore Sandwich

"Worry not my dear, it is the pursuit of fixing imperfections that makes for the best creators. I have little doubt that in time, you will have persevered through enough trial and error to have a result which will be perfect for the task."

Truly, Scarcity knew nopony worthwhile that did something once and considered it just right. Perfection took effort, and a complete disregard for any notion of settling for okay. That Penny were one who once again proved to be subscribed to this kind of thinking just made her more confident that investing in this mare were a very wise idea, which might take a while, but would reap results that were worth far more than the bits she had put into the investment in the first place, in regards to the product, sale, and of course, a hoof in on a unfamiliar, if not completely new venture with explosive potential. One would be wise to invest both time and bits early in something with this much potential.

Having said that, she would wander over past Penny, and have a look at the cake stand that were to be moved, to inspect the craftsmanship put into it. She would not touch it, yet her eye went over every inch of the creation as she wandered around it, and truly took in the delightful little details that made for the overall creation.

"This is simply marvelous darling. So often I find that there are missed details with things such as this, as some ludicrously believe that it is the overall look that matters the most, yet I find that you seem to have recreated everything down to the most minute detail. Hmhm, yes. Truly a stallion with many hidden talents it seems."

She gave him a slightly teasing smile as she said that last part, and waved Brick over towards the cart to stand ready to move this, soon as they were ready to travel along that were.She wouldn't mind spending a little more time here though, and admire the work, as well as speaking with the one who had made it if it were, though she supposed she could always invite him over for tea and business another time. Who knew? Perhaps the talk would fall on other things, rather than just a potential work relation in regards to his skills at restoring varied things such as this.

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@Rising Dusk

Even if anyone had heard Rising saying hayburger, they wouldn't have known what to do to accommodate that sort of request. The sort of frying technology that sort entailed were not something they even know existed in this rural area, so at best they would be able to find some hay, then tentatively put it down in front of him, and hope it would be enough.

Rising wouldn't find this sort of reverence and obedience everywhere in Harrowmark though. Some places might just say thanks and then wait until he left, as some were far more isolated and preferring it to stay that way, without interference from the outside.

Sometimes that were because they harbored a wilderness witch instead of a harvest mage, and didn't want anyone snooping around, but more often than not it were just particularly anti-social creatures who could tolerate eachother because they understood the want for personal space, but were less open for outsiders who might start getting overly friendly. Wisp had been in one of those towns once, and the level of paranoia and mistrust that just seemed to ooze from everywhere were both staggering, and kinda creepy.

"I find it disturbing to think that Twisted made attacks outside of this country. Praise Viz'nay that your friends fought off his attack. Though... No, it's probably nothing. I'm sure he got him locked up in some coffin deep in the swamp. Too risky to send him away.

Your friends, they will be coming for you soon then I guess? Perhaps they wish to stay for a bit and take part in the celebration, so you don't go away so soon. They'd be welcome to, I'm sure of it."

Wisp had hoped it would be some more time, so that she could learn of Rising and from where he came, but she understood. Several things and beings must wait for him in Equestria, that would mean much to him. Harrowmark held no such bonds on him, despite what he had been through.

Still, she wished to enjoy what time there were whilst he were here, and perhaps see if he could at the very least look fondly back on their talks, and think of her as one who at the very least, were a helpful mare.

"Could we perhaps go somewhere quieter, please? There's something I wish to ask you."

Wisp guided/insistingly nudged Rising away from the bonfire and towards a small building with a bench a few meters from the party, where he could still sit, rest his mug if he did not feel like carrying it further, and where they could hear eachother more clearly. Away from where others may listen in.

All except for Chirpy who remained on her back yet as this seemed like a situation where she wanted silence, he flew up to a small pole sticking out of the building - bird perches like that were basically on all buildings in Oaksbrook - and just watched them in silence.

"I'm sorry for taking you away, but i thought perhaps it were better without everyone listening in, when I ask if you could tell me of the attacks on your village? I don't mean to pry, if something hurts, but we have seen many of the creatures that Twisted enjoyed sending to do his bidding, and some have a tendency to linger, or spread disease. Others... *gulp* Others are loved ones, fouled by his deeds. Knowing if they have been destroyed could bring closure to some of their family members."

Of the limited topics they may be able to talk of in time, she thought that perhaps this were more important than certain personal questions that she may wish to ask, even if she surely had no right to pry into that. Yet, if she wanted to be remembered fondly for the future, and fulfill her promise, she would have to prioritize being helpful. This time both to him, and to certain villagers here who could use some news about the ones they had lost, long ago.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Blitz Boom

Lucid_Nightlight · June 26, 2019

@Blitz Boom

"Oh, is the island recognized as a nation?"

"You need a national anthem and flag!"

Pringle ran around eating as many bugs as he could since he was a lizard.

"The flag should be one of those cat posters! I like cat posters!"

Edited June 26, 2019 by Lucid_Nightlight

Moonlit · June 26, 2019

@Blitz Boom Harmony simply smiles at the Mimic, then whispers at her "I'm sure my daughter will show you all the BEST napping spots." The other Unicorn snaps off a goofy salute, then bows "Sunrise Chaser at your service" A card appears from behind Ziggy's ear, "My card, Mademoiselle". The Card reaches SUNRISE CHASER, UNICORN, PROFESSOR OF MUSIC-UoE Baltimare, GOOFBALL, PROFESSIONAL DAD.

"Mireluke" Harmony steps up, "Is sorta like a large crab" Serenade snorts, "Mom, Mirelukes are like the size of our house." Harmony looks over, "hush dear, the adults are talking" She winks. Sereande keeps pouting, but lights up like a Hearth's Warming Eve tree when Fah'lina offers half.

Sunrise shakes his head, "Actually Sere, Mireluke KINGS are the size of houses. You just insisted on going after" He air hoofquotes the next words "The Big One". The foil wrapped sandwich is still warm, and it's made up of meat that tastes slightly sweet with a hint of smokiness. It's offset by the cool crunch of something. The shell is warm, and the sauce tastes AMAZING.

EQ_Theta · June 26, 2019

@Blitz Boom

“Discord may have had fun walking you around like this but did you like it? Or do you not mind it at all?”

As much as Lin may have found amusement with Discord, even striking up an unlikely friendship with him, there is still just about a few things that didn’t sit well with her. Chaos is a tricky thing to like or understand, and aspects of it may not always have some way to spin it into a positive thing. In a sense, she shared Sen’s sentiments of treating Omen as being more than just a pet and the idea of leading her around like one reminded her of the leashed dogs she spotted on more than one occasion during her exile. Maybe it is normal to them as their pets were treated like friends but it is still very odd.

Lin decided this one time she’ll humor Omen unless she states she doesn’t like it, in which case she’ll quickly drop the tongue. She led the Ki’Nathar through the common area where her family frequently prepared and ate their meals, hold discussions, and other important matters when everyone who had a stake in it were gathered. A fire pit, some wooden boxes, and fibrous floor mats were the only things to see. Everything else used to prepare meals were kept off to the side in one of the boxes. Initially, there were only two rooms adjacent to the common area: Sen and Lin’s room and their parents’ quarters. It is apparent where the hut was cut away to make room for a third room larger than the former but that is mostly to take into account for the possibility that there might be additions to it later.

It didn’t take more than a minute to pass through common area and skirting around the fire pit in the middle before Lin and Omen would reach the newest room of the family home.

“You can open your eyes now,” Lin’s enthused voice broke the silence as she revealed the newest extension. “Welcome to your room! I know it looks rather bare at the moment but we don’t really know how you’d like it decorated. Sen figured to leave it up to you to decide how you want it done.”

“There’s a floor mat for you to rest on in the corner, a table next to the window to let some light in if you want to do some reading. Next to your mat is a corner for Shrimp to rest in. A confined space that can act like a little dragon cave for him to keep anything he finds interesting. We probably might have to replace it if he grows too big for it but we’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

“If there’s anything else you want here, just let me know and we’ll try our best to provide. What do you think, Omen? Do you like it?”

It is unfortunate Sen isn’t here to join them. He really wanted this home to come together for Omen, being grateful for all the help she gave them. Despite this new room being about as blank and bland as an empty storage room, both he and Lin hoped this would change, filling up with mementos and memories they will make in the future, even with Shrimp included.

Rising Dusk · June 27, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Having to hear that some other treat might be hiding under the swamp in a coffin made the detective want to just rub his eyes. Calling upon memories of books on the supernatural to include vampires and at this point, he wouldn't be all that surprised if Harrowmark had such actual creatures. Not that vampires were the only beings to inhabit coffins, but it didn't stop his mind from wandering to such thoughts. "Possible," he responded to her inquiry about his transportation sticking around. Ultimately, they were his ride so there wasn't a whole lot of choice if they wanted to leave. Especially if his rescuer was either of the two ponies he figured would come for him. He could of course keep countering the teleportation and force them to stay, but that really wasn't in his nature. It would all depend on how well of a party they found the celebration to be if they wanted to stay.

Lost in thought didn't prepare the unicorn for the lack of a chance to respond before he was being prodded away from the table at the celebration. Rising's body still not on the most up and up on wanting to move much, but he was nudged along nonetheless. A small building, or more shack really, with a bench that he slumped over. Taking a moment to catch his breath and let his mind catch up to how tired his muscles were. Her concern was of course warranted though. "Many souls were set free since I began this case. From artifacts that the sisters brought me and many inside Twisted's own shop. I performed more unbindings in the swamp after my battle with Twisted. I set everything to build and dismantle itself over time rather than all at once while rerouting the leylines back to the Goddess. The results, I'm unsure of at this time. As for the attack on Manehatten, I don't have any details." Pulling himself up onto the bench to take a seat. He reached into his hoodie pocket and removed a small crystal vial, one of the objects Wisp would have seen fall from his saddle bag earlier.

Snapping the top of the vial off with a loud crack that released a crimson mist and spiraled around the unicorn for a couple of seconds before absorbing into his flanks. His cutie mark started to glow and pulsate with a shine. Stuffing his hooves into the pouch of his hoodie he stared out the door that they entered. "Let's ask."

Matrix Twang · June 27, 2019

@Blitz Boom

{BETSY VIOLET}

Betsy nodded. "Thank you, sir." She mumbled, rummaging to find three more bits and give them to Alonsus. "For the chef. For his trouble."

She turned her attention to outside. Dammit. I don't have my umbrella. She very lightly cursed under her breath and held her gaze until her food would be delivered once more.

{STORM BUTTON}

After the tremor, Storm felt the pain. Her eyes went wide. "Yes. Thanks." She rapidly pressed the cloth on her head. Trying to come up with positive thoughts but failing, she looked around the building frantically until she remembered her purse.

"Don't freak out. I'm doing this for safety..." Grabbing her purse by the handle, she swings it on her hoof, gathering speed. Of course, she had stepped backwards to avoid hurting Stare or Alonsus. Once she was satisfied with the speed, Storm brought the purse closer to her until it smacked her on the side of the head. The impact knocked her unconscious.

Almost instantly, the rain ceased and the day's normal weather - sunny - returned.

Catpone Cerberus · June 27, 2019

@Blitz Boom
"No promises." Ruby simply replied to Spicy's joke, in a joking manner of course, though she was not joking, depending on the way Spicy would die, she wouldn't necessarily bother to get her. She waited for spicy to go in and then followed her, she wasn't really expecting much when it came to traps, she guessed bear traps or magical traps at worst, because when one looked around the area they were in, it was pretty clear that this most likely wasn't anything more than old cellar, so it was unlikely there was any build in traps.

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Nada chuckled "I see you like to think big." "But it will be a long time until it gets to that, and really, if I have control over it, I prefer staying in smaller scale, because it much nicer to be able to see the whole audience at once, it makes it more personal." she then continued with slightly humorous tone "And I can't do autographs, there isn't big enough writing equipment and I don't know how to write."

Blitz Boom · June 30, 2019

@Moonlit

On 6/26/2019 at 3:20 AM, Moonlit said:

"My card, Mademoiselle". The Card reaches SUNRISE CHASER, UNICORN, PROFESSOR OF MUSIC-UoE Baltimare, GOOFBALL, PROFESSIONAL DAD.

"Hehe, that was a great intro."

Ziggy clapped at the show that Sunrise were putting on with a huge smile on her face. Sure these sort of tricks were honestly nothing special, and doubly so as he were a unicorn, but she had always loved seeing these sorts of performances, and the personality and way it were delivered were really the important part in that, not whatever or not it were technically impressive. And Sunrise sure had the personality and flair to make this a real joy to experience.

Plus, she were part of the performance, that were always the best part!

Once she were done clapping, she'd be going into the mid left pocket on her vest, withdraw a laminated card, and hold it up so that Serenade's dad could see it. A medical license of Equestria, with all the legal signings and stamps, along with a photo of her with a huge smile - they tried to pick one where she didn't, to make it seem more professional, but as she didn't stop smiling, eventually they gave up and just picked the least goofy looking one - and the words : Doctor Zingola: Medical Professional of Equestria. The back would have some words on what her specialty were, but that weren't hugely important right now.

Whilst this went on, Fah'lina would start to munch through her mireluke treat, and were visibly struggling to not just chomp it all down at once. It tasted far better than she had expected, and as such, the smart part of her brain said that she should savor this and really enjoy the tangy, delicious taste. Another part of her brain though, tried to tell her that these ponies likely had more, and the smart thing to do would be to chomp it all down, then start begging for more. So far she managed to not obey that part of her brain, partially because it would be a blow to her dignity, but it were a struggle to keep in check, as she slowly went through her half of the treat that had not been handed over to Serenade. The siren should likely not expect Fah'lina to share again, if she got more of these.

"Are the mirelukes caught locally? Fah'lina looks like she'd be real sad if she didn't get a chance to chase some, and if i make her sad, she makes me go ouchie.

Heeey, that reminds me. Harmony? You've been speaking all sorts of familiar and stuff with her. You've seen these sorta creatures before? Have any sorts of pointers? I ran into her in a forest and she just stuck around since after she figured out she could get treats that way. Lot's of trial and error these days with many bitey results."

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@EQ_Theta

On 6/26/2019 at 2:37 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Discord may have had fun walking you around like this but did you like it? Or do you not mind it at all?”

"When Master Discord ruled Equestria, some were leashed up. Ponies and strange creatures Master Discord made. Many reasons he said. Keeping others safe. Keeping them near you. Said that I had to be on one to be safe.

I think I liked it. It made Master Discord smile. Felt strange warmth in my chest from that. Mother says that was joy."

Omen followed with her eyes closed, and her tongue being dragged in to lead her in the direction that Lin wanted them to go. It didn't hurt her, and her tongue were not a slippery mess, as she didn't have saliva - design choice by Discord to make sure she could use her tongue to grab things and could carry stuff in her stomach without it being drenched - so it shouldn't be uncomfortable for either party. In fact, Lin might find that a good comparison to what the tongue felt like, would be a drowsy, room temperature snake. Strong, soft, and about as easy to work with as a garden hose.

Whilst they walked, Omen thought of those olden times long gone, where Discord had her along like this. It weren't always just to lead her to places where he wanted to surprise her with whatever new he had done at that given time. Sometimes, he'd just ask her to do so so that he could take her for a walk and mingle a little with whom he called *the common folks*, and she'd try to blend in doing what most of the others being paraded the same way did: She barked.

It were frankly disturbingly bad, but it had entertained Discord to no end, likely from the weird looks that had given them at times, so she had kept it going at times to try and keep him happy. He were her master, and that were part of her part of the deal back then, far as she knew at least. *sigh* How simple life had been back then. No logic or reason to apply to everything, just chaos, and all the randomness it entailed.

A memory of a failed uprising against Discord had started to go through Omen's head when they halted, and she were told to open her eyes.

On 6/26/2019 at 2:37 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Welcome to your room! I know it looks rather bare at the moment but we don’t really know how you’d like it decorated. Sen figured to leave it up to you to decide how you want it done.”

“There’s a floor mat for you to rest on in the corner, a table next to the window to let some light in if you want to do some reading. Next to your mat is a corner for Shrimp to rest in. A confined space that can act like a little dragon cave for him to keep anything he finds interesting. We probably might have to replace it if he grows too big for it but we’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

“If there’s anything else you want here, just let me know and we’ll try our best to provide. What do you think, Omen? Do you like it?

The room that met her were small, barren and what regular ponies would call *sterile*. Yet as Lin were saying, this were a blank slate. Something which the resident of this room were supposed to fill with their own flair and style.

Her room...

Omen spent some time in silence, looking around and sniffing the walls, patting at varied places and things like the corner for Shrimp, and the table. The mat were tentatively poked a few times before she stepped on to it, unsure if it had something beneath it or were a magical thing of some kind. Yet as it seemed to be just a mat, and nothing that would do something confusing, she'd stand on it, and trot around in circles a few times on it.

It would be about three to four minutes before she'd stop what she were doing, have a seat on the mat, and turn to face Lin.

"Yes. Thinking room, close to you. Important. Can help faster then."

At the same time as she projected her words, she'd be busy coughing up a small pouch, half full of the *snack* crystals that she had once been given for Shrimp to snack on, and placed it on the table. A second small pouch, this with the dried fruit that had also been stored for a time now, came afterwards, and were put next to it.

"I do not keep many things. I find some later I kept from Master Discord's time, put it here. Ponies do that. It is normal, yes? "

Omen rose herself from the mat and calmly walked over to Lin, where she'd slowly and somewhat jerky, pull the longma in for a somewhat both too loose and too tight of a hug.

"Thank you for wanting me here, sister. I will help many ways."

This were kind of a risky roll, but Omen would never learned if she didn't try, and *thank you* seemed to work for most creatures. The rest she were more unsure of though. They'd see soon enough though, what the response to her uncanny valley attempt at replicating a happy, tender moment would be.

Omen wouldn't let go of the hug unless Lin said she wanted to be let loose, or started to wander backwards. Before that, Omen wouldn't have a clue that perhaps she were keeping at this invasion of Lin's private space for an uncomfortable amount of time.

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@Rising Dusk

On 6/27/2019 at 2:18 PM, Rising Dusk said:

"Many souls were set free since I began this case. From artifacts that the sisters brought me and many inside Twisted's own shop. I performed more unbindings in the swamp after my battle with Twisted. I set everything to build and dismantle itself over time rather than all at once while rerouting the leylines back to the Goddess. The results, I'm unsure of at this time. As for the attack on Manehatten, I don't have any details."

"Souls aren't usually just free in Harrowmark, but if you empowered Viz'nay, you may have sent their souls to rest in her embrace, or if not, back to the land where they may rise again. Either case would be better than suffering as a part of his rituals, or goddess forbid, be made into one of his horrid mutations."

They had seen some glimpses of what Twisted had crafted in the swamps near their area, and it... There were just no words to describe how terrifying a prospect that were for all of them, to be turned into one of those things. The priestess would hopefully spearhead some attacks to free the poor soul trapped within those malformed shells in due time, but for now, they were sadly cursed to wander, and the best any of them could do were to pray that there were no awareness by the spirit planted within them.

Putting those thoughts aside for now, Wisp watched closely what Rising did as he withdrew an item she had noticed earlier, but had not wanted to pester him with questions about. She hadn't a clue what it did though, as it wandered over to somehow have a reaction to his cutie mark. An interesting one he had, compared to some others here in town. She herself for example, whilst it were not possible to see as she were currently wearing some formal clothes as this were a celebratory day after all, were three blue, wispy flames in a small circle. Rather simple and didn't say much really, but some others here we-

She suddenly realized how long she had actually been starring at his flank whilst she thought on this, and watched to see if anything happened, and averted her eyes with a small blush on her face. This weren't acceptable behavior, and she she should know better than to have done so, regardless of what interest she had in watching whatever or not some sort of magical thing would occur.

"So uhm... W-What did you just do, Gre- Dusk? Did you some kind of location spell hidden on your person?"

If he had, then gosh... Soon she would be face to face with not only more ponies of Equestria, but the friends and coworkers of their great savior. It certainly made her feel a little more nervous thinking about it, yet hopefully she would be able to greet them well, and convince them to join the festivities. Surely they would need it too, after all they had been through with Twisted on their end, and the townsfolk would likely wish to know of potential beings Twisted had sent that way that may have once been part of their family, or circle of friends. Perhaps she would see soon now, so... Best just try and wing it she supposed, and then hope that they would not show hostile towards Chirpy. He were curious by nature and might get closer to have a better view. Something which may backfire with ponies from a land where undeath were mainly caused by horrid magical practitioners with a bone to grind.

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@Sweet Scoop

On 6/27/2019 at 2:29 PM, Sweet Scoop said:

"Thank you, sir." She mumbled, rummaging to find three more bits and give them to Alonsus. "For the chef. For his trouble."

Alonsus made no motion to take the bits, and in fact, were about to tell the mare of their policy, when Chop Chop came out from the kitchen with the new bowl of stew and elbowed the larger earth stallion aside to get closer to the table. Once there, he would put down a coaster he carried in his muzzle, and place the bowl on that. It were made of some good, rubbery material that ensured it stayed on the table and whatever were on it, didn't slide around. They were still waiting for the rest of the shipment to have this on all tables, but he had taken one out of the box they had so far to get this sorted. Chop wouldn't have two spilled bowls from the same table.

"We don't take extra bits. It's policy. If you want to offer them, there's a tip jar for that."

He pointed back towards the counter, before taking a wet blanket he had slung over his shoulder to bend down and take the worst of the spilled stew on the ground. It were gonna need a mop, but that weren't his department. If anypony asked, he just helped here because he were at the spot and this needed a wash anyway.

This close, Betsy should be able to see more of the extend of the damage that had seemingly been a mere inch or two away from blinding him on his left eye, and judging by the old tooth marks on his throat, it weren't a wonder that he spoke as gruffly as he did. Rather, that he were able to speak at all, as they seemed to be rather deep around there. Had to have been a good mixture of luck and some savvy doctors that had gotten hold of him back in the day.

He rose his head as he saw the other mare swing the purse and motioned to stop her, but it were already too late. With a swift motion, she had battered herself in the head, knocking herself out cold for some unknown reason. The response from the three employees were pretty mixed on this, with Chop getting a scowl on his face, Stare's eyes opening wide whilst she took a step back in silent shock, and Alonsus rushing over to gently shake the mare a little to try and get some life into her, with concern painted all over his face.

"Dearest me, why did she do this?"

"Take her home and ask her when she wakes up."

"Beg your pardon? Alonsus fares well wi-"

A hard look from Chop silenced Alonsus.

"She can't stay here."

"He's right. She needs to go home, and we're getting to evening. We can't close the kitchen."

"*sigh* Very well, I shall take her. It seemed as if you knew her, Stare? Lead Alonsus down the right path."

"Okay."

Stare probably shouldn't know where the mare lived, but again, she liked to watch others in her spare time, so she did know, and could take them there. Provided the door were locked, she'd make sure to check the purse for a key, and if one were not found, Alonsus would shoo her aside and quickly pick the lock. Afterwards, he'd give her a look of *please don't ask* before going in and gently placing the mare on the nearest bed that could be found. He were a strong stallion, so carrying her on his back were no issue at all.

Back at the shop, Chop would now have to stand at the register until further notice. Hopefully somepony else would come and take over soon, before his appearance scared away customers.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Then at least torch me or something. I ain't saying I believe in ghosts, but I sure ain't keen on risking it by ending up with a carcass that's been neither cremated nor buried. Ain't worth the shot."

She'd wander down the stairs and start to get a good look on things, when she hit one of the bottom steps and a small cluster of powder fell down on her. Not a whole lot managed to hit her before her reflexes kicked in, but she were still a pony. A non-combat trained one at that. Avoiding it entirely weren't an option.

Shaking and coughing for a bit, she'd soon open her eyes wide again and look around, then curse a little under her breath and spit on the ground.

"Blinding powder? Seriously? Bucking hay, is this place set up by a four year old? Urgh, I won't be able to see nothing for a while now. Hey Ruby, you mind just, leading or pushing me wherever? I can't see diddly squat before this stuff's cleaned out. Ain't a lot that fell on me, but I'm thinking it were still enough to at least have me shut off for ten minutes to an hour."

She'd empathize her point by looking towards where she heard Ruby breathe and wave a hoof in front of her somewhat swollen, suddenly pale eyes. Annoying little party trick in a bag that had hit her, which granted weren't the worst thing, but it did mean she had no idea of the layout of this place. like, at all.

==============================================================================

@Catpone Cerberus

"You can still keep it small and ask for fish y'know. We'll just sell it as it being the sort of show where you wanna be able to get to see all the audience. That sorta intimate show's all the rage these days, though I'll tell you, I think it's being pushed because it saved them space so they can run several things at once. Far cheaper than building new places, or dealing with fire regulation for a certain size of audience. Right ol' mess that whole thing, but this sure ain't gonna be. We just need to fix it up, once we got a look at how damaged the place is right now."

Sure, Nada might not be big on going gaudy and full out on this thing, but Berry were gonna keep insisting that the autograph thing were a real good idea. Sure, Fluttershy and others like her wouldn't come trade in a fish for an autograph, but there were other game in town y'know. Some of 'em surely wouldn't mind, long as they got some ground rules up on what not to over-fish and stuff like that. Had to keep the population going.

Speaking of autographs, Nada had mentioned something about that that might prove a small hindrance.

"I'll help teach ya how to write, it ain't too bad. And yeah, you got yourself some big mittens on you, but you'd be amazed how big pencils can get these days. They make all sorts of over-sized ones for gags and showing off on a shelf for really weird folks. Just gotta find the right size for you."

Berry would go on to start starring at the siren's hooves, and trying to compare them to her own, to get an idea of hos big they were gonna need to talk to make it fit.

============================================================================

@Lucid_Nightlight

"Only ones who gets out out here's usually chased away by the squidmonkey's, or go coo coo and have to be shipped off to some mental place. So no idea if it counts as a nation, but sure, we'll say it is! We'll get right on the flag. I'm thinking a cat poster, but with like, more eyes, and strange writing."

How about you get on to saving your guests first?

"Jeez, how many more are there left?"

8-13 I think. The screams muddle's together.

"Yeah yeah, fine, we'll get on it, jeez. I think I hear weeping near the pollinators. We better go get that one before he or she gets infected, and the author throws a hissy fit.."

Moonlit · June 30, 2019

@Blitz Boom Sunrise chuckles then goes to deal with his daughters. Serenade is too busy munching on her mireluke wrap to care. Harmony rolls her eyes. "Yes and no. The smaller ones are actually located in the river that feeds the bay, they grow big enough to feed this voracious predator" She narrows her eyes are Serenade, who blinks...caught red-hoofed shoving the entire half a wrap in her mouth. She swallows, blushes and turns away. "The Mireluke Kings however, they are usually found at the entrance to the bay." SHe turns to Fah'lina. "I have indeed, or least a close cousin. As for pointers, well...you don't domesticate a mimic, they tame you." Harmony walks up to Fah'lina, and looks her in the ear, "Make you a deal, you don't bite anypony between now and when you leave, and I'll have Moonlit show you all the really good nesting spots and I'll cook you up some tasty treats, deal?" She extends a hoof.

EQ_Theta · July 1, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Though Lin was no strange to Omen having odd reactions when they hugged back when they were newly acquainted with each other, this was one of those moments where she was genuinely taken aback by Omen’s initiative to give her one instead of things going the other way around. Here, she returned the gesture after being pulled in for a hug, warmly accepting her sister’s embrace. It is a nice feeling and all the more made better as Lin remained silent while savoring this moment.

“Take your time, Omen; there’s no need to rush decorating your room. You’ve done plenty helping me and Sen out. If you need time for yourself, there’s this room and that little Sanctuary out in the forest for you to stay, to clear your mind and calm down when things are getting difficult.”

She’d be lying to herself if she said she could tell Omen’s emotions at any given time. Lin could pick up cues and rely on context, but she would need time to learn. Right now, she could say her sister is satisfied and happy with a degree of certainty.

While this tender moment continued, it wouldn’t last long. A voice by the entrance to their home would draw their attention away from themselves and towards the visitor.

“Hello? Lin? Omen? I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Elder? I didn’t see you there.”

“I didn’t expect you to be back so soon. I saw someone entering your home and thought it might be you. But how are you, Omen? When Sen and Lin left in a hurry many days ago, I was afraid you might have found yourself in trouble. Speaking of which, if anyone in the village is giving you a hard time, look for me and let me know about it. Not everyone is used to the idea of letting you stay here but that isn’t an excuse for them to take out their grievances on you.”

Catpone Cerberus · July 1, 2019

@Blitz Boom
Ruby just rolled her eyes, and with a slow blink her eyes turned to those of an reptile and she was able to see through any darkness, "Just a second." she then said, and Spicy would be able to hear her go past her, walk a bit deeper, and then there was a sound of broken glass sliding against a stone floor "Blinding powder may be simple trap, but it probably was effective whenever this trap was build, you see, there was a rope followed by a big pile of what looks like broken poison bottles." "And even though at this time the layers of dust on the floor are probably more dangerous than the trap, back when the rope didn't break into dust when touched, it could have worked." the sound of glass lasted for a while more, but when it stopped, Ruby spoke again "Now just walk straight, about ten steps. this is only a single room, and it is exactly what you would expect from a cellar."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You are really persistent." Nada simply responded "But we should wait and see before planning anything, after all, it may be this all goes wrong and I end up back to the lake." "Though I'm curious, has writing gotten so essential that I really should learn it? Besides autographs I mean."

Seamore Sandwich · July 2, 2019

@Blitz Boom

(Continued from 349)

The tired ponies pulled their wagons just as Zhu had planned, right past the trap. That is, aside from the ones pulling the noblepony’s wagon. Theirs would hit the trap, which would hit back with enough force to snap a couple spokes as well as the outer rim of the wheel itself. The carriages all came to a halt. “Gya! You buffoons. What have you done?” the noblepony said from the window of his carriage, the curtain of which he held back with the foot end (tipped with a large ruby) of a golden cane holding the other end (topped with a bust of a pony) with his magic. One of the ponies pulling the wagon replied, “It seems a wheel has broken, your highness.” With this, it would be clear that they were in the presence of a member of the royal family, and not some random noblepony. This was in fact a descendant of one of the two sisters. “How long before we can get moving again? We have places to be by week’s end!” One of the ponies now assessing the damage responded, “We’ll have to wait until morning to begin work on fixing this. It’ll be getting dark soon, and it’s best we spend what light we have setting up camp.” The royal pony muttered to himself, “useless,” as he closed the curtain. A pony had already taken charge of directing the other ponies to places at the side of the road to set up for the night. Some of them worked together to slowly and carefully move the broken carriage aside as well. They did so with great effort, and managed not to shake the carriage too much for the royal pony inside. Gaea meanwhile did not make any moves yet, as appearing now would be suspicious. She would wait until they were done setting up before she would do anything.

(Marcus will be continued from page 349 in another post this week, and both Charlie and Penny will be continued from page 350 next week)

Edited July 2, 2019 by Seamore Sandwich

Sekel · July 2, 2019

@Blitz Boom

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"I've only gone up against a Tatzlwurm once, and that was at the other side of Equestria. I unfortunately do not know where they generally inhabit," Twilight told both of them with a small shake of her head. "If you could in finding us a Tatzlwurm, that would be great, Last," she added with a smile to the guard pony. At the very least, she'll have better prepared friends this time around. She levitated a pair of discarded saddlebags from a corner of the library onto herself and placed Cherish's castle piece in one of the bags. "This should work for you to come with us, right, Cherish?"

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE & ATZY

Karmic shook herself when she was placed on the ground and stepped up to Enzo, sitting near his claws. "A cave is your best bet?" Karmic asked in shock. "What in Equestria could be in that monstrosity!?"

'Diamonds. I feel like I remember this particular cave, or at the very least whichever changeling my DNA is from does.' Atzy spoke softly, almost reverently, in Karmic's mind and she shivered visibly.

"Oh, now I'm worried. Atzy has memories from before being a part of me," Karmic said nervously.

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"I gathered that from the way the older griffins acted after their drinks," Aurora commented and eyed the booze in Happy's cart warily. "That stuff I really don't like," she added with a shiver.

@Widdershins

DAWN STREAK

"Are you saying you like me!?" Dawn gasped loudly, keeping a tight grip on Kaltrop's spines so she wouldn't fall off.

Widdershins · July 2, 2019

@Catpone Cerberus

Widdershins wobbles on his back in his cloudgazing position, speedily chattering on in his same excited lilt as if he barely listened to what the catpony had said or even any thought behind the half-recognized memories he dredges up in his indirect babble.

Don't know no Twilight. Least not this world's one anyhoodles! Knew some mad scientist pony by that name that didn't get along well with others, but-

From what I've seen, the supposed world-savers they be, they don't exactly get mobbed everytime they step out their doors like you think they would!!

Sounds like Government HushHush Cover-Up stuff you'd only know if you were somehow in the loop of all the dark stuff every gover-mint keeps hidden so they don't panic the populace!!

Maybe your some scientific chimera forcibly stitched together and left on a doorstep as a massive experiment to see how mutants mesh into society!!

And as a self-made Duckonaseat that I am, I do suppose I do know a chimera like myself what with when I see one!

But whatever dark, depressing backstory you didn't know ya had isn't no nevermind!!! I don't keep myself fussed about the Mind Parasite masquerading as the city-leading mare I once grew up with that I had to incinerate & dwell on it to the point it drove me mad!!!!

That huge dump of somewhat-sentences having been trampled out of coherency by how maddingly fast the draconequus had blurted it out finally comes to a sudden, calm stop. Widdershins rolls to his left to nudge his long, fuzzy snout towards one of the returned cats and says in a much more audibly paced voice:

…

You live & you grow.

Coiling his fish-finned floppy tail around to the cats on that side, he brightens back up again.

Hey look! A KITTY!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@Dji

Head pointed intently forward, from focusing on flying or to keep his face where his mare can't see it, Kaltrop speaks over the rush of the wind as they fly in more or less the direction she brought up.

"No! … I'm saying you used me to get up in the air, then you needed a way off the roof. Because you can't fly apparently.

Either I leave you to die up there or eat you. And both of those options would likely get a mob of angry ponies after me. So it's only the NICE thing to do."

Edited July 2, 2019 by Widdershins

Matrix Twang · July 2, 2019

@Blitz Boom

{BETSY VIOLET}

Betsy had a moment of shock. What sane pony would turn down extra money?! She took a bite. It tasted great to her, but that wasn't her comment. She said kind of indirectly, but obviously towards Chop, "thank you, sir...seems like a shark bite. Or some large marine creature, anyways." She continues eating her stew in silence.

{STORM BUTTON}

She woke up in her bed. This confused her, until she saw Stare and Alonsus near her bed. She sighed.

"Sorry, go back. Don't waste work time because of me.." She rolls in her bed, head throbbing from the self-inflicted injury. It was worth it though - she'd lost control of her mind there.

"You can take some bits from the jar for your time. Thanks for taking me here though." She gives a small, calm smile, trying to make them leave so she could sleep.

{MATRIX TWANG}

For the first time in a bit, Matrix strolled casually through the streets of Ponyville.It did nothing to impress her eyes in it's construction-filled state. Despite Manehattan having plenty of construction, she found it more appealing than here - especially once she noticed a random griffon helping out. Shaking her head, she sighed. Too many ponies up and about for her to do as she wished.

Her stomach growled despite her obvious exasperation. I guess I have to eat somewhere...The first place she found was out of the way and off-putting to her. However, it was not filthy, which eased her tension. Giving yet another sigh, Matrix stepped inside Sloppy Joe's. What caught her eye instantly was a small bloodstain on the floor. She noticed the pony who seemed to be the chef also manned the register.

"Hello! Um...what do you recommend? My first time eating here, so...yeah! Um...wow. Is business that slow? No other staff...must be hard.'" She gave him a smile.

FanOfManyShows · July 2, 2019

@Blitz Boom

"She's incaporial, you couldn't physically throw her" He sounded serious, with a smirk that seemed to hint he was joking "But sure, I'll teleport you there."

"I'll stay here, I don't want to get hurt in battle, it'd be safer."

Iron looked to Misty, sighing. "I can't in a good mind leave you alone, you're young."

"Yeah so?"

"It won't look good, might even be more dangerous."

"What if you came back to look after me while Chow and Astral are away?"

Iron looked to Chow, and then at Misty. "Sure, I can do that." He stepped closer to Chow. "I'll be right back." He said, teleporting away to follow Astral

====================================

"I've never really thought anything was wrong." General wing said as he followed "Maybe only nitpick stuff but that's about it."

====================================

Chariot gave her a deadpan look as she talked, smiling a bit. "Reforming officer does sound better than prison guard doesn't it?"
He glanced away and thought a bit. "and yeah I'd like water." He said, looking back to her

====================================

Opal arrived first, entering the room, looking around to see Astral not there. "Excuse me madam?" She walked up to Null and Void. "Where is the element of Greed?" She whispered

=====================================

@Dji

Zealous looked at her, not saying much as she ordered her items, paying little attention to the tools for his horn.
"Anywhere else you plan to go?"

Blitz Boom · July 2, 2019

@Dji @Widdershins

"Yes, thank you. Long as you have that, my area moves with you, so just try to keep that in mind please."

It seemed the princess were set on helping her. A fortunate situation that Cherish were not going to forget anytime soon, and neither would she about the assistance of the guard/royalist mare. Honestly she wasn't entirely sure at this point, but any help to be free from her current tether would be good, be it from Last, or a benevolent princess whom she were still surprised didn't have other things to do. Perhaps she'd understand more in due time, but for now, she'd just follow, and do hers to keep these two safe, if they even needed it.

"Two hour trip at a steady pace. Follow me."

Last would make sure to pass a market stand on the way and get some water, as well as a few apples and an orange for the trip. Not much, but they would potentially need these rations, along with the first aid kit that she had in the small saddlebag opposite her scabbard, and she were not taking the *toughen it up* approach with a princess. Back at the shrine they might've had to go on some long, hungry sessions, but that weren't acceptable to do to a royal.

About an hour and a half into leading them through the forest in a direction that made it clear that she either knew exactly where to go, or were just over-confident, she'd stop to check a tree with some slash marks on it. Fighting had happened here some time ago from the looks of things.

"...We're there within twenty minutes, but they might have expanded. Stay cautious."

She'd move on after that, but keep her eye on things around them, to see if there were any signs of the creatures she had run into the last time she were standing here.

===================================================================================================

@Dji

"Good. That may mean she will not simply copy what you are when she holds a form of her own."

It were a somewhat forced grasp on things perhaps, but Enzo honestly considered it a good thing that she wouldn't have to deal with a sort of doppelganger situation, just potentially more twisted. The question would of course come about whose memories were there, as Atzy might hold something far, far worse than a somewhat evil clone, yet that would have to be an issue for another time.

"And we are here seeking a diamond which can be carved into a sizable egg for the ritual. I would think a cluster the size of your torso would be enough, yet we will see."

Enzo took a fallen tree nearby and yanked a suitable part off to use as a torch, then summoned some cloth to wrap the end in. Setting it ablaze took some time, as he were not strong with fire magic, yet a few dozen attempts with a large stone and the side of the rocky surface would finally manage to make enough sparks to do something here, and they'd have some light going in there.

"We should move. Open your inner ear to what Atzy have to say of this place though. It may prove important."

==============================================================================================

@Dji

"I ain't forcing you to try it either, so no worries there. Frankly it ain't something I think just about anypony should go meddling with anyway."

Happy gave her a big grin and kept walking with a carefree pace onward, until they'd soon after reach a point where they could exit the forest and be faced with a far reaching stretch of mostly grass, spotty trees, and a few buildings in the horizon.

"Now see, ain't this nice? We got a few kilometers of this sorta thing to go with now before we get anywhere near a forest again. Less of them tree puppies to take their chances here, so I bet that's gonna help ease your head a wee bit, eh?"

=================================================================================================

@Moonlit

Fah'lina perked her ears as she offering were made, and turned to face the mare. It were a tempting offer, but she were conflicted. On one paw, she'd really like some good spots to nap, and the treats were always good, yet on the other paw... She really wanted to bite the little dynamo pony for the thing she did before.

Conflicted as she were though, after a few seconds, she'd reach a paw out to shake on it with the pony, and give a confirming squeak. Seemed like the mare had a deal, though if she skimped out on it, there would be teeth to feel.

"You should keep an eye out for her. She likes to cheat on her deals."

Ziggy responded in jest, but she'd get a face full of mimic tail all the same, as Fah'lina would scurry up her back, sit on the mare's head, and wriggle the end half of bushy tail in the zegasus's face a little. From the sounds of it, Ziggy got some hair in her muzzle during this, and weren't all too pleased with it, even if she knew she deserved it.

"Pplrpht. See? I told you.

Okay, okay! You don't have to do it again, I'll stop.

You're right about it being impossible to tame her. She's like... I think you said it best honestly. Yeah, I got nothing there, huh.

A-N-Y-Way, you said those crab thingies were in the rivers? Guess I know where we're going later on then. Perhaps we'll see more mimics there? Or were it somewhere else you ran into one that sorta looked like her? I've been looking everywhere and can't even find a notice in the animal books about her. Just some vague old tales from somepony that passed through Ponyville talking about Discord and ingrained chaos. I dunno. She sounded kinda weird, though she were a nice one. Smelled like grapes."

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@EQ_Theta

Omen would let go of Lin as she heard there were somepony else in the room, and turned to face him.

A male longma from the looks of it, and... Young? He didn't look too old, but Omen usually judged age by wrinkles, or in the case of dragons, size. He didn't look any bigger or more wrinkly than Lin or Sen, so he were probably young, though why then were he redered to as elder? Perhaps it were a longma thing, but there were other things to be curious about with him that made that question fall behind in her mind, and the more he spoke, the more she had to add.

Outwardly, she would just stand silent through it, and look at him with her head tilting slowly from left to right, and her curious, unblinking eyes focusing on looking over the elder like he were a strange statue on a pedestal, meant to draw the eye.

"...Who are you?"

As he had finished, this were the first question that her whispering voice projected to the minds around her. Among the many she had, this seemed the most important to her, as from the sounds of things, this longma knew who she were, but she hadn't a clue who he were. Had Sen and Lin told stories of her whilst she hadn't been in town?

Lin may recall that Omen's memory were cleaned out as she let go off most of her unprocessed thoughts, as part of their fight against the former elder. Which included basically everything regarding this place, and what few, brief glimpses were buried beneath all the new things she had to think off currently, the current elder were not part of.

"Lin told you about me? Maybe. Perhaps that is it?

No trouble here. Others sometimes waved. No attacks. They do, I send them away. Like Mother taught us.

Trouble other places. Strange mare in crystal. Ponies in crystal. Dragon fire with sparkles. Many places to be. Not done yet I think?

My turn now? Why do she call you elder? You look young. You age like dragons, but smaller?"

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Poison bottles? Why those cheeky lil'- That's one nasty trick to pull on somepony. Thanks a bunch for clearing it out Ruby. Really appreciated."

Blind one first, then have them stumble into a pile of poison bottles? What sorta twisted sod had set this up? Urgh, just good that Ruby were here so that she didn't end up stumbling into some sort of necrotic agent, or ancient illness hidden in the vials. Right now, she wouldn't put it past whoever set this place up to have just spiked them with the most nasty stuff that had been possible to get hold off, and then potentially... Set the gold as a trap...

Bloody hay, this might end up being layered traps and cursed coins, weren't it? Darn it, and today were Just starting to look great, no pun intended.

She hadn't a clue what went on right, beyond what sounded like Ruby clearing away some of the glass just in case something were still stuck to 'em that would try to infect anypony getting too close and getting a cut on the shards. However, as she were urged to ahead, Spicy would tentatively start moving, though slowly, in case there'd end up being a trap door or loose rock that would unleash something hellish if stepped down on through the short walk down to the main room. A pretty short trip, but darn it, she didn't wanna get torched or something, so this were gonna be taken slowly and paranoid.

"Not trying to alarm here or anything, but I ain't putting it past the bugger who set this up to not curse the gold or something, so keep your senses sharp. You feel those little hairs on the back of your neck start working overtime, listen to ya instinct and don't start poking until we get it cleansed."

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Alright, I'll lay off you for a while, but I'm telling ya, you ain't got nothing to worry about. The princesses are gonna get you through this, and eventually, everypony's gonna be happy to have you around, just like I am.

And I mean, writing's pretty good to know. Not only for autographs, but for letters, deeds, and bla. bla. bla. You could just have somepony else to do it for ya, but just saying, it doesn't hurt to know. We can look on it some other time, alright?"

Best get moving so they could find the place and see what they needed to get stuff done. Berry were sure that long as they kept this way, they'd find the lake and then work from there in like, 5-10 minutes. Or they'd get horribly lost. They'd see soon enough she supposed.

==========================================================================================

@Seamore Sandwich

Seeing that it were a descendant did not make Zhu consider stopping what they were doing. In fact, it brought a little smile to his scaled face to know that the one they would be inconveniencing would be one of these far distant relatives of some of the princesses's old escapades. In his eyes, these creatures did not respect the blood that flowed in their veins, and were a bunch of parasites who only got through the world by riding on old to ancient family ties with the sisters.

There had been one that he had met that stood outside the circle however. A young mare, working for a florist in Deltrot. The way that she looked there were no denying her ancestral ties, yet she did not carry herself on this. She worked hard for what little she had, acted politely around others, and oftentimes went out of her way to brighten the days of others.

He had managed to come around the area once in a while, to try and avert hardships that were to befall the mare's immediate future, as he wished to preserve what goodness he had found in this bloodline, yet he couldn't protect her against time. Eventually, she would have lived past her years, and once her family and friends had mourned, he would stand at her stone throughout the night and do the same, whilst speaking his prayers. He truly hoped that whatever awaited in the next life, she would get the peace she so richly deserved.

He had only been back there a few times since, to see the marker of the spec of goodness that he had actively wanted to stay happy. It reminded him of why he did what he did, and helped him get through some tough situations at times. He did not seek out her offspring however. They had cast aside what their mother had stood for, and been trying to wring their vague ties for all that it were worth. He had no love for them, and would not shed a single tear for the well deserved fate that eventually befell them, though he did at times check in to see if the next ones in line would be better. Some hope were there with this wide-eyed little colt he saw there a few years past, in his own timeline. He seemed to care little for the name or recognition that came from his ilk, and instead actively sought out those who felt down and tried to cheer them.

For him, Zhu had some degree of hope, and perhaps if Celestia could ever forgive him for his actions, he would seek the colt out and tell him of his family ties, and why it were important that he remained on a positive path in the times ahead of him. As for the one who they were seeing now however, he would care as little for his well-being, as he would for Ambrosia's children. Meaning that he would not go to the length of causing him too much harm, but if it happened, he wouldn't care, unless he saw something important in the future of the stallion.

As Gaea slowly made her move, so too would Zhu, who would silently move from his hideout, and land softly on the ground near her.

"How do you wish to do this?"

Whispering like this, a certain slithering tone came over his normally growling voice, as it wasn't easy to maintain that tone in this low a voice, and he did not wish to risk them being heard.

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@Sweet Scoop

8 hours ago, Sweet Scoop said:

"thank you, sir...seems like a shark bite. Or some large marine creature, anyways."

"Three sharks. Shouldn't have risked it during mating season."

There had been some time after he woke up from his ordeal where Chop had hated the sharks. The ones his colleagues used, as well as the ones they just had in the bay in general, and the strays who swam in from time to time. It didn't matter, he wanted to beach them all for his disfigurement.

Time and court ordered therapy had made him look past his hatred though, and realize that it were his own fault. He shouldn't have tried to direct his companion further into the bay from the water itself, but stayed on the surface and used the tools they had available for the task. Instead he got cocky and thought he could save some time, and during mating season, the sharks weren't thinking as rationally and calmly as they tended to normally, so what had happened were just nature.

In due time, he had also had to concede that Crunchy had been the one to get him away from it all before he got torn apart, which is where the largest bite mark on his stomach came from. The shark had tried to protect him as best he could think off, and these days it actually saddened him that the last time he had seen Crunchy, he had been yelling at the shark in furious rage, which scared his old friend away.

Just a month and a half more sober though, and General Tidal Wave had agreed that he could come around and make amends. He weren't getting back into the guard - partially because he knew he hadn't the same drive anymore - even if the general were likely willing to see past his insubordination, considering the circumstances at the time, but he could at least try and see to it that things were right, and have a chance to come by and see old friends now and again. He just had to keep the three years sober mark first.

8 hours ago, Sweet Scoop said:

"You can take some bits from the jar for your time. Thanks for taking me here though."

"Much can be said of Alonsus, but I do not need payment for the common decency of helping somepony home whom have been injured. Seeing you are lucid and not in pain, is more than enough."

He may be pompous and, well, annoying to most because of it, but Alonsus were above all, a good, solid stallion with some healthy morals. What life he may have had before which would prove otherwise were not important to that, as he had put such things behind him a long time ago, yet even then he'd find it unlikely that he could see somepony knocked out and simply wander over them or kick them to the side. Not an innocent bystander at least. That sort of thing had always seemed too... Wrong, basically.

"I'll stay here and make sure she's okay for a bit more. Please tell Chop that I'll be there later, okay?"

Stare took it somewhat easier, but she did not intent to leave just yet, which for one surprised Alonsus, whose eyebrow shot up quite a bit from this remark. he weren't used to this sort of behavior from her, yet, it seemed these two knew one another, so perhaps that were why she were more inclined to be of service here? Ah yes, surely that would be it.

"I shall. Take care, and please, if help is needed, you both know where to find Alonsus."

He'd give them a warm, winning smile, make a bow, and then leave the house as quietly as he could and then make his way back to the shop with some degree of haste. It were not good to have Chop deal with customers for too long at a time.

Last in the meantime, would move over to where she figured that Storm could hear her best, and looked at her with worried eyes.

"I know why you did it, but isn't it too much to hurt yourself like this? You could be seriously injured."

8 hours ago, Sweet Scoop said:

"Hello! Um...what do you recommend? My first time eating here, so...yeah! Um...wow. Is business that slow? No other staff...must be hard.'" She gave him a smile.

"Ginger stew's fresh. Rest you're waiting for."

Chop hardly looked at the mare as he responded, as he were busy cleaning the counter with the cloth he had slung over his neck before. Instead, he just pointed upwards at the signs hanging above and behind him to indicate that she could look there if she weren't peckish for ginger.

"And the others are busy. You want them? Then sit down and wait."

Honestly he weren't a very serviceminded individual, which were why he were so rarely allowed to stay at the register. Usually Straw preferred to take over himself, rather than this, or have Stare there, even if she did creep some ponies out.

=================================================================================

@FanOfManyShows

"Then I'd name a vase after her and throw that. Either way, something's getting thrown."

His input weren't much needed in what went on after that, as Iron seemed to take it on himself to get back here and keep an eye on Misty soon as he had dropped off Chow, and Misty were right on with not jumping into this. Lil' thing shouldn't be running into battle anyway, so this just saved some time telling her to stay here.

Just before they vanished though, Chow would turn to Misty and give her a big grin.

"Don't worry, Astral will get me back here in one piece."

With that being the best he could think off at the moment, they vanished, and soon enough after would end up at the hospital, where they'd witness quite the little scene.

=============================================================================

@FanOfManyShows

"That's the spirit. We'll get you molded into a fine general in no time."

Tidal Wave grinned. Seemed like this one had his reservations about some things, but that were alright. Suggestions were a-okay in her book. It were ordering them to change that'd get backlash rolling. She really had to tell Wings how it worked out the time when general Fahrenheit tried to order them to change the order of succession to be in line with how the Royal Guard did it. Boy howdy, that'd been a nasty sight.

For now, she'd lead them down, around, and eventually down the hallway lined with guards before the bunker. Seemed like they were all ready for trouble. That were good. Might mean this'd be all grand, even in case of some sort of escape attempt.

They'd enter just as Hogweed would hold a pitcher of water carefully towards Warlock, waiting for him to either take a sip, or take it from her hooves and drink it himself. They just missed her saying to him again that it were going to be a harsh road going forward, but that they'd get through it, long as he tried to keep the right mind set and actually showed to wish to change.

============================================================================

@FanOfManyShows

"It's up your flank if you don't shove off."

Null would respond to the inquiry like she would any other about dangerous materials like this: Snarling, narrowed eyes, and hostility. Honestly how she greeted most, but it always felt like more when it came to dangerous magical items.

"Null, t-there's no need to be r-rude. She's a g-guard after all."

Void were calmer and more against this sorta thing. Equestria were good to them, though... She would lie if she didn't think that something were off with this guard asking about the element. It seemed too dangerous to sent a... Well, *lackey* out for, she guessed were the less polite term.

"I don't care. I ain't forking over anything like that. You want it? Bring the princess, or take a hike."

About then, the others should be able to teleport in, which would make them see the guard snooping around confront a pair of mares, where one of them were visibly growling at her. Not the most exciting, but still, it could escalate.

Moonlit · July 3, 2019

@Blitz Boom "She might, but I don't..and besides a deal is a deal." She smiles at the mimic, "As for Mimics, I know alittle about them, one of my jobs was Archivist at the Royal Archives, and they had....mentions of mimics...including Umbral Mimics" She shivers, "Never want to meet them." The chariot takes less then 10 minutes to land outside a fairly large house, three floors with the top DOMINATED by a pair of large telescopes. The gentle lapping of waves can be heard. "As for meeting other mimics, maybe...it would explain why whenever I leave tacos out they go missing"

EQ_Theta · July 3, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Well… it seems like something must have happened indeed if Omen’s memory is muddled a little. It was good to know some of the villagers have been treating her well, at the very least being friendly with someone they’ve been giving awkward sideways glances back then. That was enough of a good start and hopefully it will carry over if or when someone from the outside would come. Right now, it is time to patiently help out a friend.

“Omen, I am Elder Ghilan. We worked together to stop my predecessor, Solasan, from taking permanent control of the village. Frankly, that might have only been a start and the elders from the other villages are concerned. They’ve since launched an inquiry about that and I am under a lot of scrutiny because they are suspicious. But that is another matter entirely; no need to concern yourself with it.”

“Back to your other question: you are right in thinking elders refer to age but it is also used as a title for someone leading a village. Funnily enough, the other elders are wondering the same thing. I’m too young to be an elder! I chose this mostly because no one else is willing to lead.”

Ghilan remembers the old adage well: those who seek power are not worthy of it. After their debacle with Solasan, that adage keeps him honest. He knows how easily he could be swayed by that kind of power but the responsibility that comes along with it is much greater. There’s no doubt he’s seen enough to remember why he chose to take up the position of elder. More than anything, the village can be better and it has lived in ignorance long enough to know there is much more than they know outside their home.

Lin has, however, noticed the new elder dodging his own concerns in front of them. That inquiry sounds very serious considering how relatively new he is in the position and already having something daunting giving him a lot of pressure. It might not be anything at all but having other elders concerned about it is saying a lot. For now, Lin wouldn’t push the matter and kept silent about it. Perhaps he just needs a lighthearted distraction and the situation might blow over without issue. Even he seems to so as he continued with a playful response to Omen’s question on aging like dragons.

“I’d like to think we have a bit of dragon in our lineage. We longma usually live beyond a hundred years but I suppose dragons live longer than us. You seem to have some interesting adventures while you were away. I take it you won’t be staying here for long?”

Matrix Twang · July 4, 2019

@Blitz Boom

{MATRIX TWANG}

Matrix made a low grumble. She reaches a hoof"That...was rather rude. Anyways. I'll take the ginger stew I suppose." she leans on the counter, waiting for the chef to serve her meal. The place didn't look like the Manehattan buildings she normally ate at. However, she wasn't that picky about the buildings. Matrix despised that sort of prissy attitude.

The injuries were blatantly visible on the chef, but she didn't really care. It was his problem, also she didn't prefer to know somepony's gripes and troubles. From experience it often led to endless babbling on their end and boredom on hers. Thus, she never really spoke to ponies like the chef who looked like they had a long hell of a story to tell.

{BETSY VIOLET}

...huh....Betsy depleted the rest of the stew left in her bowl. Standing up, she walked clmly over to the kitchen sink, and instinctively began to wash any and all dirty dishes and glasses that had been placed inside.It was a task drilled so deep into her subconscious she hardly noticed she did it anymore.

It was such a subconscious act she'd near-forgotten where she was, but felt like the chef couldn't mind. It was work being done for free, after all. She hoped the owner wouldn't mind either.

{STORM BUTTON}

Button was, honestly, surprised they refused the pay. It simply hadn't occurred to her that they were just being nice. She had a new appreciation for the stallion - he'd rubbed her the wrong way in the restaurant. It occurred to her that maybe he was just annoying sometimes, not some self-important douche. She gave a smile. Then heard the question.

"No. Stare, if you know what'd happen..." she sits up on her bed. "...I'd much rather smash my own head in than let THAT happen." She gave her best reassuring smile, holding the expression. The wound on her head bled a bit more due to the second injury. She wiped it from her head. "I'm fine, Stare. Just a bit of blood. Want me to make you anything to eat, since you're here and its getting later into the day?"

Rising Dusk · July 4, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Having one's cutie mark affected in these kinds of ways was always rather interesting. By no means what Rising Dusk would consider bothersome, but impossible to go unnoticed. The feel of a constant poking at his flank as if by a feather. The Captain had gotten the idea from some map in Princess Twilight's castle, but the detective had yet to look further into detail on it. Luckily rarely used except for emergencies, but ultimately at these kinds of distances it was the best way to get the O.M.I.'s attention quickly. The sunset orange magatama and bright star burst fading in and out with a rhythmic pattern.

The attention to his flank didn't go missed, but he couldn't blame her staring at something so beyond what she was use to seeing here in Harrowmark. Her wonderment in just the short time he's been here really reminded him of O.M.I.'s junior officer, and Scarlet wasn't even a unicorn. Their stunted development in this land when it came to magic was most noticeable. "It is," he nodded, not really a whole lot to explain. The Captain can transmit her voice through the cutie marks of O.M.I. agents, but nopony else had the expertise to do it in reverse. Tussle was getting pretty close though. Slipping off the bench to his hoofs he headed for the door of the shack, "Should be a couple of hours befor~"

The air around the town filled with a static energy that made manes stand slightly on end. Rising Dusk managed to put enough energy into pushing the door open into the town in time to follow the flows of arcane magic to the main road that entered the town. Crackles of mint colored energy condensed, a loud thunder clap and a bright green flash of light erupted in an instant.

At the end of the road stood a tall, regal, pure white unicorn. Draped in an elegant azure dress with gold trim that clung perfectly to form. Mint and pink mane curled with a glistening shine straight out of a salon. She looked ready for the Grand Galloping Gala, but to anypony who knew her, this was battle attire. In her own eccentric twisted philosophy, if she were to do her grand final battle, she was going to look her best. The minor set back from the limited transmitting his cutie mark could send out, the O.M.I. wouldn't know the condition the detective was in. For all they knew, they were coming to battle the dark wizard Rising Dusk was sent after.

Her long horn crackled from the excess of power needed to teleport the distance to Harrowmark. Reaching up with a hoof she tapped her horn, each producing a little zap that made her have to jerk her hoof away until it finally dispersed. "Oh dear, it's been ages since I've traveled this far," The Captain's enchanting voice complained. With her horn taken care of, she was finally able to take in her location. "Sweet Celestia, or time traveled..." she commented on the old condition of town. Her tone though made it sound like it was a more common annoyance than something out of the realm of possibility. A celebration in an old timey village wasn't exactly what she was expecting to come across when she received the beacon from her detective.

The tired detective slowly made his way in her direction before she got any ideas of which ponies may be friend or foe. Oh how he took the gallop for granted when he didn't have the energy to do it.

Edited July 4, 2019 by Rising Dusk

Catpone Cerberus · July 4, 2019

@Widdershins
Cerberus just nodded as response, because he was too focused on trying to understand what Widdershins was saying to have anything to say back, but a friendly cat like smile never left his face. The cat's first tensed up when Widdershins got close, but after some soundless communication between them and Cerberus, they calmed down a bit, though they still stayed on guard in case they needed to run. they tensed up again when they got coiled but didn't run away. "Be careful, they are bit nervous about you, they have never seen your kind." "But that aside, I take it you like cats like I do, are we your favorite animal?" There was again a very noticeable contrast between how Cerberus said his warning and how he said the question, and the change from serious to...not-so-serious was instant.
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@Blitz Boom
"I don't believe whoever did this has cursed it." Ruby said "But I guess it won't hurt to get them to someone who can check, I really wouldn't care for another curse right now." she walked to the gold, there was total of ten boxes, but only five of them had gold in it, and they were here and there on the floor "There is fake boxes, there's ten, only five of them have gold." a sound of hoof hitting wood could be heard "But the fake ones have weight in them too, I have to say, this is a weird way to protect gold." Naturally all the boxes had locks, but they were all thoroughly rusted, explaining why Ruby couldn't sense them.
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Nada just nodded, following Berry, finding the performance place was going to be challenging even with Nada remembering the route, because the forest had changed so much that there wasn't that many things she could recognize, and it was possible that even the place itself was unrecognizable. Nada stayed quiet, only speaking if Berry said something, because she was listening, curious if Lyriel was around, since she had said she was going to check the lake.

Blitz Boom · July 4, 2019

@Moonlit

Fah'lina's ears perked. Food getting stolen when ponies left it unattended? It sure sounded like her kind could be in the area, since that were something that tended to happen when some of them neared settlements enough to sneak in and get supplies for the colony. Back when she had been part of one, she had done much the same thing, and actively been one of the further reaching ones who got her former colony things from houses and trash cans. It weren't always easy or safe, but it had helped.

Still, it could be many kinds of creatures who could've done this. It sorta depended on what this *taco* were that the mare were speaking off. Sounded like food, and well, easy food were hard to pass up. She'd have to sniff around and find some tracks at some point to check it out, and look further up the rivers. With a siren in the area, they wouldn't keep a colony too close to the primary hunting grounds, out of fear that this link further up the food chain might come in and try to eat their young. Their kind might do well as predators in rivers and be able to scare off quite a few things, but as Serenade could attest from the first few meetings with the squirrel-like creature, they were cautious around true apex predators.

"Umbral Mimics? What're those?"

Ziggy made big eyes as she heard this and looked really curiously at Serenade's mom. It sounded like some sorta meaner kind of mimic? Maybe some sorta sea variant? Deep sea mimics did sound like they could be some scary creatures, since basically everything that came from the deep sea were scary and dangerous. That's what she grasped were the biggest truth at least from the biology lessons she had to take when she grew up. A lot of scary pictures and big words basically boiling down to *It will bite you*. She sure were happy that she hadn't decided to take a job as a marine biologist instead of a doctor when those sorts of things were down there.

On their way, she'd feel the buzz that meant she had to take the last of her pills, and would gulp that down as quickly as she could, so that she could continue to enjoy the view. Got a bit easier once she got this actually, so she didn't stand all jittery and on the brink of just flying out and taking a few spins around the chariot.

Once they got to their destination though, tired or not, she'd still flap out and rise up into the air to get up real close to the enormous telescopes and have a good luck at them.

"These are so cool! You gotta be able to see lots of stars with this."

She'd glance into one lense and see if she could see anything. She likely couldn't, but if somepony were down there, the giant eye looking at them might be a little unnerving. Hehe, she might actually be able to have some fun with this further down the line, She just needed some props...

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@EQ_Theta

On 7/3/2019 at 3:04 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Omen, I am Elder Ghilan. We worked together to stop my predecessor, Solasan, from taking permanent control of the village. Frankly, that might have only been a start and the elders from the other villages are concerned. They’ve since launched an inquiry about that and I am under a lot of scrutiny because they are suspicious. But that is another matter entirely; no need to concern yourself with it.”

“Back to your other question: you are right in thinking elders refer to age but it is also used as a title for someone leading a village. Funnily enough, the other elders are wondering the same thing. I’m too young to be an elder! I chose this mostly because no one else is willing to lead.”

"I do not remember you."

It might be a little harsh, yet such a concept were foreign and hard to grasp for Omen, who just thought that it were facts which she needed to state. A truth which while not kind, were ultimately the truth. She hadn't any idea about any sort of connection with the elder that he implied. No grasp of any sort of battle that had been caused, other villages, or the title of elder. It were things she had been through and been told, yet to her, it were as if none of it had ever happened.

And yet, something there did ring a bell. A name which made a few still pictures flash through her head, and caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand taller. She even felt this strange, bubbling warmth in her chest from hearing it, yet it weren't the kind which she could identify as being a possible good thing. This more reminded her of the time when the illusions at the lake had confronted her with images of Sen and Lin broken, and blamed her. Something..,. Unpleasant, which simmered like a low fire.

"Solasan... Sister took him, to the dangerous place?"

Omen's confused gaze landed on Lin as she said this. The memory of a longma had come up once Solasan had been mentioned, and she recalled that same one in Mother's realm, dragged away by tentacles to the dimension which she warned all of them to never peer into. Why he had been taken there she didn't recall though, but that scene stuck with her for some reason. it seemed important somehow.

It made her question why that had been a punishment now though. Omen had been there when a tentacle with eyes on it had passed through the air and strange voices had drawn them all to the immensely powerful energy that had radiated through. She knew something had passed through, but neither her, nor the unformed ones could remember what it were, or what then happened. They only knew that Mother told them not to think of it, and just to know that one of their siblings had found themselves a master. What little else had been mentioned when some wished to hear tales from other worlds, were just Mother looking wrong, and saying that where their sister now were, had no place for sanity, and should never be visited, even in the most dire of situations. Perhaps when she saw Mother next time, she could ask details of this, and why she had opened up there anyway? Perhaps Mother could clear many things up for her.

On 7/3/2019 at 3:04 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“I’d like to think we have a bit of dragon in our lineage. We longma usually live beyond a hundred years but I suppose dragons live longer than us. You seem to have some interesting adventures while you were away. I take it you won’t be staying here for long?”

"Dragons live long. Not seen one from when Master Discord ruled yet. I think they are gone."

Omen refocused her gaze on Ghilan, the... Friend she couldn't remember? He didn't seem like he were snarling or anything, so they were friends, perhaps? A lot of things seemed to be missing here, and it were making her head itch.

"Lin wanted to show me my room. Not sure how long we are staying. Perhaps she wants us to stay here for a long time?

Long time in the same room... We are grounded?"

She recalled hearing this happen to some foals, but whenever she had gotten closer to the window outside their room and started to ask what it meant, they always started to scream, and sometimes throw things. Then the parents came and it never really went to anywhere but threats, more screams, and sometimes somepony that tried to tackle her. Usually she just left quickly if the foal didn't answer right away, as frankly it were simpler than having to try and understand two or more ponies coming in to make it more confusing.

=================================================================================

@Rising Dusk

1 hour ago, Rising Dusk said:

The air around the town filled with a static energy that made manes stand slightly on end. Rising Dusk managed to put enough energy into pushing the door open into the town in time to follow the flows of arcane magic to the main road that entered the town. Crackles of mint colored energy condensed, a loud thunder clap and a bright green flash of light erupted in an instant.

At the end of the road stood a tall, regal, pure white unicorn. Draped in an elegant azure dress with gold trim that clung perfectly to form. Mint and pink mane curled with a glistening shine straight out of a salon. She looked ready for the Grand Galloping Gala, but to anypony who knew her, this was battle attire. In her own eccentric twisted philosophy, if she were to do her grand final battle, she was going to look her best. The minor set back from the limited transmitting his cutie mark could send out, the O.M.I. wouldn't know the condition the detective was in. For all they knew, they were coming to battle the dark wizard Rising Dusk was sent after.

The festivities gradually started to ebb out as soon as the magical show started to happen. Harrowmark had often required of their citizens a certain degree of paranoia, and weariness of new things that they did not understand, as it were rather common for things they had not seen before to be a new monstrosity, or some wilderness witch trying to lure citizens from the safety of their towns, and into the swamp or forest, where the poor souls who got too curious would be snatched and taken away from prying eyes. What happened from then often didn't end in a happy way, and this new experience were tingling that foreshadowing bone within most of the citizens of Oaksbrook.

They were starting to huddle closer and shield what foals they could grab in time when the magic were shown to condense, yet some of the small ones were transfixed and curious, as young minds so often were, and so they hesitated to return to the safety of their folks.

All three of those would find themselves floating from the ground and being lifted back towards the group by a ghostly aura, as Thistle gathered those up who had not found cover elsewhere, and placed herself in front of them, just as the flash of light occurred.

The mare that arrived were not what she, or any of the citizens had expected. A tall mare, dressed in attire the likes of which they had never gazed upon before, who seemed to almost radiate light to most of the citizens. Were she not without wings, many would have thought this the arrival of Princess Celestia herself, yet as she had no wings, they knew not what to think. They simply stood huddled together as the pyre blazed on, transfixed on her, and waiting silently for what their priestess would say of this.

Wisp had not been floated towards them, as both her and Rising were too far from the others to safely get them there in time, yet Wisp too had her eyes nearly glued towards the mare.

Such an elegant sight were something to behold, and she would have likely stayed there, slack-jawed in awe (even as the mare started to moan about the travel and area she had gotten towards) had Chirpy not flapped down and started to poke her with his beak to try and snap her out of it. Beyond that, he would grab her mane with one of his feet, and redirect her gaze towards the outsider, who had started to move towards the unknown mare, as his way to signal that she should do something. He wasn't sure what, but Wisp would frantically stumble forward as she saw this, and attempt to think of something off the top of her head.

This mare were... She mentioned Celestia, a long travel, and she looked important. After what Rising had done, this meant... Y-Yes, of course!

"H-High Priestess! This is one whom the great one called upon to help his travels. She is a companion of our savior."

Light had started to flicker around Thistle as she were preparing a spell to keep the citizens from this outsider, until Wisp spoke her words and things halted.

Looking it over, she could see Rising go towards the mare willingly, and whoever this were, had not entered their town with rising weapons or spells of destruction at her ready. Considered too what words she had spoken...

"𝔸 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕠𝕣, 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕜."

The lights faded, and Thistle would start to float towards this new arrival herself, with a curious, yet analytical look going over her somewhat hardened face. This may be one with Rising, yet she would approach her and see for herself what this mare were like. Powerful for one, that were certain. She could almost taste the power frizzling through the air, even from this distance, and it only got stronger the closer she came.

Wisp in the meantime, would have staggered over to Rising's side as they moved, Chirpy still on her back, and support him as best she could to help him move along. He were still clearly weakened, and trying to get to this white mare as fast as he could, might cause him to fall. Wisp would not risk that, and hopefully her actions would be pervieved as such, as she wandered alongside Rising with a gaze switching rapidly between the mare and their savior.

"Please thread slowly, Dusk. You are still weakened from your ordeals."

As or the townsfolk, they were tentatively going back towards the pyre, and what they had been doing before they had gotten a surprise visitor, yet it would take them a few minutes to gain traction in the festivities again. And several pairs of eyes would certainly still go towards the captain. Mainly curiosity the more time passed though. Someone like her were difficult to not draw the eye after all.

===================================================================================

@Sweet Scoop

3 hours ago, Sweet Scoop said:

"That...was rather rude. Anyways. I'll take the ginger stew I suppose."

Chop didn't care about whatever or not his approach had been rude. She wanted something to eat, that ere something he handled. Customer service were for others like Berry, Alonsus, or-

"Now now Chop, you know that's not how to treat our costumers."

The chef halted briefly as he looked to the side, at the small stallion who had just spoken to him in his regular, jovial tone.

Single Straw were a strange sight to some, in parts because of the hat which his wife had made him, yet compared to most who worked here, he were downright normal and a calming sight amidst all the strange stallions and mares whom he had given the chance for work, where no others would risk it.

He would go to the counter and stand there whilst Chop went to get the bowl of stew that he had been asked for.

"Chop is a great cook miss, but he's not exactly our best in dealing with customers. Please, allow me to welcome you to Sloppy Joe's. I'm Single Straw, the owner of the establishment."

He gave her a friendly smile beneath his bushy mustache.

"It were one ginger stew, right? That will be three bits please."

Chop came out with the bowl and put it on the table in silence, before moving on with a damp cloth to scrub the stain off the floor. A small window of opportunity where Betsy would have had the chance to slip past and into the clean, methodically set up kitchen room, yet not unnoticed.

"Excuse me, young lady? I appreciate the gesture, but please leave the plate and come back out here. The kitchen is meant for staff only."

Even with his back turned, it were clear that Chop tensed up as he heard somepony were in his kitchen. He did not like others to interfere on his territory, and potentially mess up his system. It's the very reason they didn't have a kitchen assistant anymore, as the one who had been there said it were too stressful to try and have everything be as exact as Chop wanted it to be. Stare were the only one who regularly went out there anymore, and helped with the dishes or fixing up a few things after work. For actual repairs, Alonsus's presence were tolerated, but he too knew that it were best to not try and change things around, even if he thought some things might be better elsewhere in there.

4 hours ago, Sweet Scoop said:

"I'm fine, Stare. Just a bit of blood. Want me to make you anything to eat, since you're here and its getting later into the day?"

"I know about the weather. Not how you do it, but I keep seeing it happen."

She might as well just flat out take a leap and say it then. Worst case, she'd be told she were crazy, and something else had to be thought off as the reason for the incredibly unlikely situation that the strange weather and Storm's moods were not connected somehow.

"And thanks, but I'm eating with somepony later, so I don't need it. Hold on a moment please."

She would go and grab a piece of cloth in the nearest room she could find it, moist it in the sink, and then come back so that Storm could use it to better clean the wound on her head. It weren't too bad, but it still looked like it hurt, and it wasn't good to have blood spread around the place.

"Here. Now please, tell me what were taken? It's not good to just sit and be scared or angry because somepony broke in. It have to be dealt with, and I want to help. I... Might know somepony that could find whoever did this, if you don't want to tell the new guard."

Officer Stargazer had moved into town less than a week ago, and not everypony were thrilled about bat ponies, or dealing with the law in general, so in case Storm didn't want to go that route, Stare had some idea about what could be done. It might be kinda risky, but Storm needed help, and whilst the two of them had never formally been friends, Stare still wanted to help Storm right now. She seemed like a nice mare saddled with something horrendous, and she didn't need more things piling up on her beyond that.

==================================================================================================

@Catpone Cerberus

"Actually, that might be a pretty low key trap. Fake chests filled with some sort of spring mechanism and poison or some sort of explosive. The unwary grave robber can get themselves one last lesson about being careless with those sorta things, and others who then stumbles over them gets to learn from their example."

What could she say? This wasn't an easy life. Most who buried treasure of had it entombed with them, didn't want it to be stolen, so all sorts of things came into use. From elaborate mazes, curses, and guardians, to more low key stuff like rope traps, fake chests, and wall spikes. An oldie, yet classic method that frankly didn't get enough cred. Scary stuff to run into, especially if they were hidden and weren't placed with any sort of pattern.

"Or... I mean, this place doesn't seem high enough profile for it, but I guess they could've infiltrated the place at some point...

Look, I ain't saying this is likely, but five empty chests, but still with something in it, amidst 5 there is? You know what a mimic are, right? Those monsters who looks like innocent objects to lure prey in, then start chomping? Well, chest mimics are some pretty classic variants, and I mean, it's more likely to just be some sorta trapping in 'em, but we might've also run over a nest of 'em.

Shame I didn't bring a torch. They get all angsty 'round fire, so it's a convenient way to test it out..."

Spicy would scratch her chin and think this over, still unable to see anything but total darkness. Granted here, if this place had been buried a long time, there were a chance any mimic that might've been here weren't alive anymore, but there'd been reports of those creatures in all sorts of ancient tombs, still ready to chomp the first careless adventurer who got too close. Who knew how long they could actually last without food?

===============================================================================================

@Catpone Cerberus

The further they went on, the less animal life were in the immediate area. Normally a disturbing sight, yet with how the lake had been, prey animals had been less inclined to go there, so with life ebbing out in the area, it likely meant that the lake were near. Seemed like they had taken the right road after all.

Then all of a sudden, the voices of several animals could be heard ahead. Bear growls, some sorta low chattering, birds of varied kinds and... Well, all sorts, and usually not the sort who lived alongside one another.

There weren't just the voice of animals though. As they got even closer, another one would also mix in. One whom Nada likely would recognize with ease.

"- know that, yet it have to be done. Things functions better that way."

Lyriel would be standing at the river with a variable number of animals that had gathered with her for some strange reason, as she had come to overlook the barren lake. They would find her on her knees, one hoof into the water and shaking her head as she spoke, clearly not thrilled about the state of this secluded body of water.

Moonlit · July 4, 2019

@Blitz Boom "Also know as Shadow Eaters, Umbra Mimics were.....twisted evil creations of Grogar. They lived in a place called Tambelon". As soon as Harmony said, a chill wind blows past. "Trust me, I'd rather have to feed this little puffball" She looks over at Fah'lina "Until the end of time then have to face one of those...things again."

As soon as Ziggy looks down, she hears a high-pitched shriek followed by a clatter of hooves. Harmony facehooves "Please don't scare my husbands interns....he does that already. I'm surprised this one has lasted this long" Sunrise giggles.

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